1. Congressional Budget Office
November 13, 2012
Offsetting Costs of a Carbon Tax
on Low-Income Households
Conference on the Economics of Carbon Taxes
Co-sponsored by AEI, Brookings, IMF and RFF
Terry M. Dinan
Senior Advisor
This presentation provides information published in Offsetting a Carbon Tax’s Costs on Low-Income
Households, CBO Working Paper 2012-16 (November 2012), www.cbo.gov/publication/43713

2. Overview
■ Carbon tax tends to impose disproportionate burdens on
low-income households
■ Policymakers could use tax revenue in multiple ways
■ Paper compares options with respect to
– Targeting of low-income households
– Ease of administration
– Implications for economy-wide costs
■ Individual options entail trade-offs between minimizing
economy-wide costs and protecting low-income households
■ Policymakers could achieve multiple objectives by using a
combination of options
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3. Findings of Burden on Low-Income Households
■ Most studies find low-income households bear a
disproportionate burden, but results vary depending on
whether:
– Tax causes higher consumer prices or lower returns to workers and
investors
– Costs measured relative to annual income or alternative metrics, such
as annual consumption
■ Accurately measuring burden is complicated by data problems
– No good measure of “lifetime income”
– Unexplained consumption by lower-income households
■ Automatic indexing of tax system and transfers lessens cost for
some households
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4. Estimated Cost of a $28 Tax per Ton of Carbon Dioxide,
by Income Quintile
(Percentage of after-tax income)
3.0
Before Indexing of
Taxes and Transfer Payments
2.5
After Indexing of
Taxes and Transfer Payments
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest
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5. Options Considered to Offset Costs
■ Broad-Based Compensation
– Reduce Income Tax Rates
– Provide Income Tax Rebates
– Provide Payroll Tax Rebates
– Provide Incentives for Energy-Saving Investments
■ Targeted Compensation
– Expand EITC
– Make Fixed Payments to SNAP Recipients
– Increase LIHEAP
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6. Broad-Based Option: Proportional Reduction in
Income Tax Rates
■ Large share of households in lowest quintiles would receive
some benefit, but amount would be small
■ Bulk of reductions would go to tax-payers in highest income
tax brackets
■ Would be easy to administer
■ Could potentially reduce the economy-wide cost of carbon tax
– Increase after-tax returns to working and investing
– Decrease distortions in spending caused by tax preferences
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7. Share of Low-Income Households Likely to Benefit From
Alternative Policy Options
(Percentage of households)
100
Lowest Quintile
80 Second Quintile
60
40
20
0
Income Tax
Rate Reduction
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8. Broad-Based Option: Income Tax Rebate
■ Refundable rebate would benefit much larger share of low-
income households than reduction in tax rate
■ Fixed rebate would be progressive; especially if it phased out
at higher incomes
■ Administering could be relatively costly
– Challenging to get households with no tax liability to file
– May not reach some of most vulnerable households
■ Unlike reduction in income tax rates, rebates would provide no
added incentive to work or invest
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9. Share of Low-Income Households Likely to Benefit From
Alternative Policy Options
(Percentage of households)
100
Lowest Quintile
Second Quintile
80
60
40
20
0
Income Tax Income Tax
Rate Reduction Rebate
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10. Broad-Based Option: Payroll Tax Rebate
■ Fixed amount of earnings could be exempt from Social Security
and Medicare taxes, e.g., Metcalf proposed first $3,660 be
exempt = $560 maximum rebate
■ Rebates progressive for those who receive maximum amount
– Unequal treatment for similar households with different numbers of
workers
■ Nearly half of lowest income households have no earnings so
would receive no rebate
■ Administering payroll tax complicated by fact that some
workers hold multiple jobs
■ Could provide modest incentive for people to join workforce;
no additional incentive to work for those already employed
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11. Share of Low-Income Households Likely to Benefit From
Alternative Policy Options
(Percentage of households)
100
Lowest Quintile
80 Second Quintile
60
40
20
0
Income Tax Income Tax Payroll Tax
Rate Reduction Rebate Rebate
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12. Broad-Based Option: Tax Incentives for
Energy Saving Investments
■ Could increase cost of reducing emissions by favoring certain
investments
■ Would favor higher-income households
Income Percentage of Percentage
(Thousands of dollars) Total Tax Returns Claiming Credits
Less than 15 27.2 0.1
15 to 30 21.4 1.0
30 to 50 18.0 3.2
50 to 100 21.7 6.6
100 to 200 8.7 8.9
More than 200 3.0 6.9
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13. Targeted Option: Supplement to SNAP
■ Fixed payment to households eligible for SNAP (less than
130 percent of poverty guideline)
■ All payments directed at low-income households; Could reach
households less likely to file income taxes or to have earnings
■ Administrative costs could be minimal if paid through same
electronic benefit transfer system
■ Would not provide any additional incentives to work or invest
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14. Share of Low-Income Households Likely to Benefit From
Alternative Policy Options
(Percentage of households)
100
Lowest Quintile
80 Second Quintile
60
40
20
0
Income Tax Income Tax Payroll Tax Supplement to
Rate Reduction Rebate Rebate SNAP
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15. Targeted Option: Increased Funding for LIHEAP
■ Households with income up to 150 percent of poverty
guideline qualify for LIHEAP under current federal rules
■ Fewer households receive LIHEAP than SNAP even though
more are eligible for LIHEAP under federal rules
■ Block grants limit federal funding. States can set lower income
limits and eligibility varies among states
■ Expanding program to cover all low-income households would
entail significant increase in administrative costs
■ Expanded LIHEAP would provide no additional incentive to
work and invest and could provide some modest increase in
incentives to use energy
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16. Share of Low-Income Households Likely to Benefit From
Alternative Policy Options
(Percentage of households)
100
Lowest Quintile
80 Second Quintile
60
40
20
0
Income Tax Income Tax Payroll Tax Supplement to Increase
Rate Reduction Rebate Rebate SNAP LIHEAP
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17. Targeted Option: Increase EITC Payments
■ EITC is a refundable credit available to low-income
households, primarily those with children
– Only available for households with earnings
– Childless workers receive smaller credits and face lower-income limits
■ EITC payments are available to households with incomes
higher than LIHEAP or SNAP
■ Increasing EITC payments based on existing eligibility would be
easy to implement
■ Increased payments could increase incentives for households
to enter workforce
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18. Share of Low-Income Households Likely to Benefit From
Alternative Policy Options
(Percentage of households)
100
Lowest Quintile
80 Second Quintile
60
40
20
0
Income Tax Income Tax Payroll Tax Supplement to Increase Increase
Rate Reduction Rebate Rebate SNAP LIHEAP EITC
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19. Policy Options Entail Trade-Offs
a. Significant increase if credit was fully refundable, requiring outreach to households that would not otherwise file.
b. Preventing individuals with multiple jobs from receiving multiple rebates would considerably increase cost.
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